Dvořák Symphony No. 8 – Violin I Part

Edited by Andrés Cárdenes

The first violin part for Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 has been edited by Andrés Cárdenes, former concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 2010. Cárdenes' bowings, fingerings and other editorial markings have been added throughout the score.

Dvořák's eighth symphony was composed in 1889 on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. It premiered the following year in Prague. The first movement is a powerful and glowing exposition, opening with a lyrical G minor theme. The second movement is an Adagio at brisk pace, followed by a melancholy third movement waltz in 3/8 time. In the finale, a turbulent "complex theme-and-variations," Dvořák draws on predecessors such as Beethoven and Brahms while also infusing a jovial and optimistic character that is unmistakably Czech.